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General Weather/Earth Sciences Topics => Weather Folklore => Topic started by: Farmtalk on January 23, 2011, 07:08:11 PM
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If the groundhog sees his shadow, we have 6 more weeks of winter.
If the groundhog does not see his shadow, winter will end soon.
I dont believe he will see his shadow...I just have a hunch :-) Plus, I want spring to come early this year
What do you think? Will he see his shadow?
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The 3 groundhogs around my house don't have AMS seals. :roll:
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The only one I know of around here other than Puxatawny in PA is French Creek Freddy in east-central WV, although there is one lurking about 30 miles southwest of of me.....
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The only one I know of around here other than Puxatawny in PA is French Creek Freddy in east-central WV, although there is one lurking about 30 miles southwest of of me.....
General Beauregard Lee is in Georgia.
http://www.yellowrivergameranch.com/bio.htm
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Bret Favre will announce his retirement from the NFL ;)
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What did the groundhog's day festivities conclude two or three years ago when he announced he was going to retire! :-)
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What did the groundhog's day festivities conclude two or three years ago when he announced he was going to retire! :-)
It never concludes anything
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I probably should have saved that for the "favorite weather-related movie" thread. Bill Murray played a weatherman afterall.
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them ground hogs going to freeze their back sides off. Another freeze be there just about that time. Got that prediction from an ice worm.
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I enjoy the snowy season, so it dosent matter to me... However, I would like to play outside without getting frostbit #-o
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From The Old Farmer's Almanac:
Groundhog Day is coming! Will the groundhog see his shadow? If we were in the middle of an El Niño, he might just see it. Behind the rodent folklore is an odd bit of science trivia.
The Folklore—Look at the legend that has had folks trekking to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania since 1887. According to the folklore, if Phil the groundhog comes out of his hole and sees his shadow on February 2, it means there will be six more weeks of really crummy weather. If not, the rest of winter will melt away.
This legend is a holdover from European folklore. Since medieval times, people watched hedgehogs, badgers, bears or wolves to see if they saw their shadows on Candlemas, February 2. Once people settled in America, the local groundhogs took the place of bears, badgers and other critters.
According to the National Climate Data Center (NCDC), the tradition became publicized in 1887 when a newspaperman wrote about local hunters who celebrated February 2 by going on a groundhog hunt, followed by a jolly groundhog barbecue. He embellished the story with tales of the forecasting skills of Punxsutawney Phil. The rest is history.
The Science—When people continue a weather tradition, it is usually because it contains at least a small grain of truth. Historically the grain of truth for Groundhog’s Day in America is related to the El Niño.
The El Niño, an abnormally warm Tropical Pacific current, warps global wind and weather patterns. In North America it usually produces a warm winter starting along the West Coast and expanding eastward. By mid-winter, the warmth of a moderate to large El Niño usually reaches the Great Lakes and Midwest. Then, as the El Niño weakens, the warmth retreats and normal winter returns to the East.
In large parts of the East, this means an El Niño frequently produces a cool early winter, warm mid-winter and cool late winter. If a large rodent was wandering around in the relatively mild mid-winter, there might be enough sunshine to see his shadow. Then the El Niño would weaken and winter would literally come storming back.
It should be remembered that the Groundhog tradition persisted in America during the 1700s and 1800s, during the last stages of the “Little Ice Age.” What occasionally worked during those chilly times may not work now. The NCDC claims that since 1988, groundhogs have only had a 39% accuracy rate.
Accurate or not—it’s a great holiday and a good excuse for a party or barbecue.
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The general idea behind this is widespread in many areas, certainly Europe also.
Fine spells in winter tend to to preceed a further period of snow or stormy weather?
Well maybe, but the real point is that it can start to feel like winter is nearly done if the sun is out, as it now has a little power again.
But the worst part of winter is often towards the end, as the cold to the north is now at it's height - and interacting with the first plumes of warmer air from the south can cause *trouble* !
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The groundhog DID NOT see his shadow, so Spring is coming 6 weeks earlier this year.
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All I think is Yeah-right
Not when so much of the US is covered in snow.
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spring 6 weeks early???? that puts spring starting on this sunday feb 6th,the forcast high of 20 and low of -1 must be wrong :roll:
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They found the groundhog under the avalanche? :lol:
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Ice worms came out and says 6 more weeks of cold and snow ........
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You have said "ice worms" on a couple of occasions. What do you mean by that?
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Ice worm are real worms goggle them if you know how.
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Sorry... I thought someone who talks about them would be a better thing to check out than to google it...PS I know how to google :oops:
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Wow! It looks like the Groundhog was right for my region.... The last month has been VERY warm with temperatures consistently 10-20 above normal
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Is it too early to start talking about Pauxy yet? :-P
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Y'all still have a bit to enjoyl before the miseries return. ;)
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Miseries? Im 1/2! I got to have a passing grade! Get this one right and Ill be 2/3 8-) Extensive reasong to be conferred :roll:
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I was referring to the thread subject/title and the still to come weather before your 'miseries' (summer heat) return. :-P
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Well, the air mass right now is actually very muggy, with temps in the 70s with this approaching cold front....
Im kinda looking forward to winter 8-) Like to sleigh ride down my mountain with this homemade sled dad made :-)
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So any results on today's sightings? i cant find whether puxy or french creek freddie saw their shadows
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Everyone should forget about that darn rodent. I'm predicting that winter will last until March 20, 2012.
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Hmmm thats a good prediction :-P ;)
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The Farmer's Almanac has predicted late January to through the first week of February to be bitter for the Mid Atlantic, with a temperature for the month of February 8 degrees below average! Puxy might not see himself this year!
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Well....has the government come outside and seen it's shadow or not ?........oh that's right we were talking about rodents and predicting the nations' weather.......
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HAHA :lol:
I kind of fear that the government is trying to make us the rodents in the spinning wheel :shock: :shock:
Have you gotten a lot of snow this year Garth?
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Central Illinois received about 1 inch which has since melted away in the past week. Now it is warm and rainy.
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Same here basically, we got a couple inches about a week ago that stayed for awhile, but we are in the 60s right now so it's definitely not here....Might hit 70 tomorrow! But I smell some cold air sneaking in to my area in about 10 days ;)
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It's starting to look and feel more and more like 1993. :shock: 8-[
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It's starting to look and feel more and more like 1993. :shock: 8-[
Too bad I wasn't alive then!!!!! \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/
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Looking pretty snowy for Puxy tomorrow.....I'm calling a no shadow for tomorrow.
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I don't think he'll see his shadow lol
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In February 2017 Obama will come of the Whitehouse and see a shadow......It will be Hillary Clintons !
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Doesn't look like Wiarton Willie will see his shadow either, so maybe another early spring for us this year?
Wiarton Willie
visitwiarton.ca
57th Annual Wiarton Willie Festival happening Saturday
Fil Martino Feb 1, 2013 09:12:12 PM
Folklore says Wiarton Willie will predict how many more weeks of winter weather there will be Saturday morning.
Wiarton Willie is Canada’s most famous groundhog and if he sees his shadow tomorrow morning, folklore has it he will return to his burrow and we endure another six weeks of winter weather.
Kevin Frankish of Citytv’s Breakfast Television is in Wiarton for the festival Saturday.
Frankish sits on the Shadow Cabinet and is the only person out-of-towner on the stage.
“They don’t ask out-of-towners to be apart of the Shadow Cabinet, so I was honoured last year when they asked me.”
At exactly 8:07 A.M., Willie will be roused from his mid-winter hibernation.
If you believe in the predictions of groundhogs, if Willie sees his shadow, we’ll get another six-weeks of winter weather.
If he doesn’t, it means spring is around the corner.
Forecast: http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/on-130_metric_e.html (http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/on-130_metric_e.html)
Paul
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In February 2017 Obama will come of the Whitehouse and see a shadow......It will be Hillary Clintons !
:lol: :lol: :lol:
We have our own groundhog, French Creek Freddie here in WV, but we are expecting some healthy snowfall, so I am calling potential snow blindness/not seeing his shadow ](*,) ](*,)
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Death penalty for wrong forecasting (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/22/ohio-prosecutor-reportedly-seeking-death-penalty-for-punxsutawney-phil/?intcmp=features)? Weathermen be aware! :grin:
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Sounds like he's America's most wanted right now! #-o
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the NOAA claims 1-2 inches, well we have the 2" and it still is coming down. :roll:
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Has anyone heard the results yet from Puxy?
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6 more weeks for us if we are to believe Wiarton Willie
Paul
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French Creek Freddie in WV DID NOT see his shadow, meaning spring will come early, while Puxy DID see his shadow which means six more weeks of winter.
Story HERE:
http://wvmetronews.com/2014/02/02/french-creek-freddies-big-day-is-sunday/ (http://wvmetronews.com/2014/02/02/french-creek-freddies-big-day-is-sunday/)